Help SWJ raise $50,000

There's very little Gian Gentile, John Nagl, Tom Ricks, William Owen, Greyhawk, Mike Few, and Neil Smith all agree on; except for the fact that Small Wars Journal is an incredible resource, and that we're all thankful for Dave Dilegge and Bill Nagle for tirelessly keeping the site updated.

From the massive morning update, to daily op-eds from the best minds in the defense community, to link dumps on the hottest issues of the day, Small Wars Journal is one of the best forums for the most up-to-date defense policy.

Don't just take my word for it, though:

I frequently refer students to SWJ--sometimes for specific articles, but often to give them a lively sense of an entire world (COIN and stabilization operations, the military more broadly) that may otherwise be outside their experience. This provides a rich and far more nuanced feel than would otherwise be obtained by them through the media, and movies, and often challenges initial preconceptions and stereotypes. Given that many of my students are in international development studies with future careers in the aid and NGO sectors (and a fair number also go on to work as foreign service officers and journalists too), I would like to think that this much richer understanding contributes to more effective synergies and cooperation in the future. It certainly leads to more informed academic work.

Dr. Rex Brynen, administrator of PaxSims.

Small Wars Journal is the indispensable site for counterinsurgency discussion on the internet. I discovered the site after returning from Iraq in 2007 while working at the Army's Counterinsurgency Center.

Simply put, the discussion and articles on the site represent the leading edge of counterinsurgency thinking today. The site is followed by the highest levels of the defense establishment yet is also open to the enthusiast community, who sustain and promote it.

--Major Niel Smith, better known as "Cavguy"

SWJ is a great place to get relevant up-to-date information from experts on security situations and insurgent groups. I have found great information on Sendero Luminoso,FARC, Colombian Politics, and Mexico’s Narco War. With contributors like John Sullivan, John Fishel and Hal Brands, SWJ provides great insights on complex low intensity conflict situations in Latin America and throughout the world. As a foreign area officer I have used information and contacts from SWJ to prepare myself for official travel and studies. SWJ is an invaluable resource.

--Major Mike Burgoyne, author of The Defense of Jisr al-Doreaa

But SWJ can't operate without financial support. That's why, from now until the 4th of July, the crew at SWJ is holding a fundraising drive to raise $50,000 to help keep the site in business, and to add some great new improvements.

We've even got the Great Satan's Girlfriend helping to raise money. All right.

(By the way, congratulations on earning a spot in the top 20 hottest conservative female bloggerettes)